


Matriarchy and Sexism in Vulcan Society

by Reyka_Sivao



Category: Star Trek
Genre: Academic, Essays, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Other, Pon Farr, Pre-Reform Vulcan, Vulcan, Vulcan Culture, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 03:35:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19033954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reyka_Sivao/pseuds/Reyka_Sivao
Summary: An academic essay





	Matriarchy and Sexism in Vulcan Society

Vulcan is well known throughout the federation as being a traditionally matriarchal society. However, despite traditional leadership roles going to older women, younger women were still treated in terms of their usefulness to men, to the point of not being able to divorce without becoming the property of a man. In this essay I will show that, on Vulcan, matriarchy and sexism against women are not mutually exclusive.

On ancient pre-reform Vulcan, rival clans were locked in endless battles for land and resources. These wars were fought primarily by men, while the day-to-day leadership of the clan was generally considered “women’s work”. [Green With Blood: An Overview of Pre-Reform Cultures, Torek, 2273] In many cases, however, the “resources” seized from neighboring clans included brides. Women taken by force were generally not able to ascend to leadership roles in their new clan even when they became elders (though there were a few famous exceptions, such as Veaht the Bold, who lost her t’ prefix when she was stolen from her birth clan as a mere child, but rose to the level of matriarch in the Llangon clan [Histories from the Mountains, T’Vera, 2987]).

With Surak’s appearance and the resulting reform, many things changed. However, when he was killed by his rivals, many of the changes he sought to make, such as language reform, were left un- or partly finished. [The Greatest Idea: Surak and the Rise of Logic, T’Loah, 1967] 

Many of Surak’s early followers included women, but his writings on sex and gender are sadly limited to a few recorded transcripts of spoken teachings from near the time of his death. 

With the Reform underway, pacifism became the dominant (if never universal) philosophy. The endless wars of the ancient period finally ground to a halt, but many traditions, such as child bonding, remained static. [Marriage Practices of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, Shinahr zh’Vesrat, 2348]

With the modern period, leadership roles became split. Traditional, clan-based roles remained almost universally held by elder women. However, the newer, pan-Vulcan and regionally based positions could be held by anyone.

With this change, men became more able to affect their own day-to-day politics, but the status of women as being able to be claimed by men remained unchanged. This included the ancient rite of divorce-by-combat [Marriage Practices, p. 362], wherein, if her original mate won, the would-be divorcée was both unable to seek further recourse, and was legally considered the property of her mate. Even if her chosen champion was victorious, she was no longer considered her own legal entity. The one true escape a woman had from marriage entirely was to act as her own champion and kill her own mate. [See: Her Own, a History of Marriage and Divorce, T’Yuri, 2401] But that, of course, carried a significant risk of death.

In more recent years, in large part thanks to the activism of T’Pring, once-bondmate of the well-known Commander Spock, divorce reform has become an issue of great debate, and many clans now allow their daughters a greater measure of choice in refusing to marry their chosen husbands. However, as of this writing, no Vulcan-wide legal precedent has forced the issue on the traditionalist holdouts.

In conclusion, although Vulcan has a long history of elder women as leaders, the treatment of women in traditional Vulcan culture in some ways falls well below the standards set by the Federation for new member worlds, and only the significant grandfathering of being a founding member allows Vulcan to avoid more significant reform.


End file.
